[my64falcon]

Need some help here guys. Trying to put balljoints in the honda before I leave for south dakota on thursday. I finally was able to get the uppers out by using my air hammer. those bastards were in there TIGHT. then i was able to use a balljoint press to put the new uppers in. my problem is how do i do the lowers??? i can't get my air hammer in there to get them out!! PLEASE HELP!!!!

 

[my64falcon]

by the way, forgot to mention, its a 2wd

 

[Helmut]

2wd or 4wd? You may have to take the arm off and use a shop press.

 

[my64falcon]

its a 2wd, and the lower balljoints are pressed into the bottom of the knuckle

 

[Helmut]

its a 2wd, and the lower balljoints are pressed into the bottom of the knuckle

It's been a long time since I've changed the balljoints on those, but I believe I took the knuckle off and beat it out with a big hammer.

 

[my64falcon]

i was a little afraid that i was going to have to take the knuckle all the way off...

 

[Helmut]

i was a little afraid that i was going to have to take the knuckle all the way off...

Yeah, you will probably have to take it off.

 

[Dirtlover]

All you need is a bolt and the nut from a peice of all thread..
1.measure the distance from ball joint thread to thread..upper to lower
2.hardware store and get the stuuff..leaving about a 1/4 inch of space to move.
3.loosen the top nut a few turns,just enough for it to pop
4.insert tool and use two wrenches to appy pressure
5.now loosen the bottom nut on ball joint and repeat.
When it lets go ur probly goona loose some knuckle skin but its safer on the knuckles of the bike..theres a link on you tube somewhere if ya wanna see it done.i`ve done it plenty it its great..and costs about 2$



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDcRpSXpDcg

 

[Helmut]

All you need is a bolt and the nut from a peice of all thread..
1.measure the distance from ball joint thread to thread..upper to lower
2.hardware store and get the stuuff..leaving about a 1/4 inch of space to move.
3.loosen the top nut a few turns,just enough for it to pop
4.insert tool and use two wrenches to appy pressure
5.now loosen the bottom nut on ball joint and repeat.
When it lets go ur probly goona loose some knuckle skin but its safer on the knuckles of the bike..theres a link on you tube somewhere if ya wanna see it done.i`ve done it plenty it its great..and costs about 2$

I don't think that will work on the Fourtrax 300 as the bottom balljoint is pressed down through the knuckle instead of up through the A-arm.

 

[Dirtlover]

That sucks...hate using force on parts like that..good luck with the hammer!

 

[Helmut]

That sucks...hate using force on parts like that..good luck with the hammer!

Yeah, I know. I hate beating on them with a hammer, too. I bent the end of an A-arm once, beating them out with a hammer.

 

[Lubefree]

Anyone ever try a balljoint remover? The service manual says to use one and shows in the picture removing the ball joint without disassembling the cv boot. Curious if I should shell out for one of those tools.

 

[Helmut]

Anyone ever try a balljoint remover? The service manual says to use one and shows in the picture removing the ball joint without disassembling the cv boot. Curious if I should shell out for one of those tools.

I wouldn't use one to remove the stud part of the ball joint from the knuckle if you're just removing the knuckle from the a-arms for some reason, but if you're removing the whole ball joint from the knuckle or a-arm to replace the ball joints, then it will make the job a lot easier.

 

[Lubefree]

see helmut that is exactly what I need to do is replace the entire bottom ball joint currently in the A- arm. but the room between the cv-boot and top of ball joint doesn't allow for a traditional c-clamp style ball joint remover. the only problem i am seeing is the ball joint remover recommended in the service manual is a 28 mm opening and I can't find an aftermarket ball joint remover with that big of an opening, biggest I have been able to find is 22 mm, and I am not sure if it will be big enough. I am guessing I will have to get a ruler and measure the size of the ball joint to be sure. I also have another question. I noticed one of the ball joints going then i went on a little joy ride (not really pushing it out of second gear because I just wanted to go through some mud, but i noticed the front end got looser and then all of the sudden the front end started locking up. if I stopped and got off then lifted the front end it appeared to solve the problem and what I noticed is the the rubber from the worn ball joint got completely torn off in my joyride which made all the front end play really bad so what I think is the knuckle or whatever was pulling the axle and driveshaft from the differential and then it was popping back in causing the jerk and then seize. it went away while I limped home in first gear but I am curious if it likely caused any damage to my diff? any ideas?

 

[Helmut]

see helmut that is exactly what I need to do is replace the entire bottom ball joint currently in the A- arm. but the room between the cv-boot and top of ball joint doesn't allow for a traditional c-clamp style ball joint remover. the only problem i am seeing is the ball joint remover recommended in the service manual is a 28 mm opening and I can't find an aftermarket ball joint remover with that big of an opening, biggest I have been able to find is 22 mm, and I am not sure if it will be big enough. I am guessing I will have to get a ruler and measure the size of the ball joint to be sure. I also have another question. I noticed one of the ball joints going then i went on a little joy ride (not really pushing it out of second gear because I just wanted to go through some mud, but i noticed the front end got looser and then all of the sudden the front end started locking up. if I stopped and got off then lifted the front end it appeared to solve the problem and what I noticed is the the rubber from the worn ball joint got completely torn off in my joyride which made all the front end play really bad so what I think is the knuckle or whatever was pulling the axle and driveshaft from the differential and then it was popping back in causing the jerk and then seize. it went away while I limped home in first gear but I am curious if it likely caused any damage to my diff? any ideas?

I'm not sure, I've never had that happen, but I doubt it did any damage to the diff. You may need to replace the ring clip that holds the axle in the diff, though. You might want to take a look at your diff seal, too, to make sure it didn't get damaged in the process.

 

[Lubefree]

thanks for advice helmut. i am going to pull it all apart tonight after work so I can start looking at getting any replacement parts I might need. again I can't thank you guys enough for the advice help so far. I never thought this stuff could be so fun. I haven't sat on an atv or done any repairs like this in probably 15 years the last bike I owned was a tri-z and all I ever did to that was rebuild the two stroke motor with my uncle. Man is it fun to ride this 300fw in the mud it cannot be stopped its unbelievable.